Palace concerned on Pinoys’ poverty rating

Malacañang on Sunday admitted that it was concerned over the result of a survey showing that a high number of Filipinos consider themselves poor.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey held from September 23 to 27 showed that self-rated poverty among Filipinos increased to 47 percent in the third quarter, higher than the 44 percent recorded during the second quarter.

“We’re concerned that the perception of poverty increased,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in an interview with reporters. However, he added that the government is still “very much encouraged” that the “food-poor” or self-rated category decreased.

“We hope that the gains of unprecedented economic gain will soon be translated to more economic gains for the poor,” Roque said.

The survey indicated that 32 percent or about 7.4 million Filipino families rated their food as “poor.”

It also revealed that three-fourths or 36 percent of self-rated poor families have always claimed themselves as poor.